Chapter 119 - Dioko

Dioko was now in sight. Seagulls flew overhead to let out their calls and merchant fleets went to and from the trading hub of Neirtho at a rhythmic pace. Their party had made amazing time sailing from the Lawless Lands thanks to Coctim who had used a minor spell with his wind magic to aid their traveling by sea. What should have been four to six days of travel had turned into two because of it, for both Coctim’s cog and the galley that Brae had decided to name ‘Nelly.’ Excitement was intermixed with anxiety for a number of their party, namely Trey and Bann, but the other humans were just downright excited to be back to civilization.

The numerous demons along with Napoleon seemed unconcerned about what the locals may think, say or do about them being there - much to the amusement of Coctim and Claire, and were slightly irritated that they had to be sent off to the nether realms for the time being.

“It’s just to avoid suspicion,” Trey promised as he held up his hands to the glaring faces of his minions. Sithis, Napoleon, Rivia, Juila, Piggy, Telipe and Atharost were all quite upset at having to spend time away. Telipe had even argued that she could hide the pentagram across her forehead to avoid suspicion, but Trey didn’t want to chance it - and all of them were very jealous of Ezdeath who got to follow him along through the human cities until they reached their destination.

Rivia pouted and folded her arms as they sailed by another smaller ship on their left, still a little ways from docking. “Why does Ezdeath get to go and not us?”

Trey smirked and rolled his eyes as the succubus stuck out a tongue and pulled down an eyelid. “Because Ezdeath can shapeshift, I mean look at her.”

He pointed over to the white-haired beauty, who looked nothing like a succubus - but rather just a very attractive human girl in her early twenties. She still had the same golden eyes and stunning facial features that drew in gawking stares from many of the sailors, but her horns and wings were completely gone. It was her ‘many faces’ trait that allowed her to change minor details about herself, given that she didn’t stray from being female and humanoid.

Rivia gave a low grown and banged her head into the staff she was carrying. “Fine.”

“I don’t like it.” Atharost said casually, leaning against the railings a few feet away. “But I will do as you ask. Just be sure not to keep us there too long… the nether realms are very boring.”

“And I don’t want to go without feeling your touch!” Piggy said adamantly while stamping her bare foot into the wooden deck, being a little more forceful and forward about her feelings than she usually was. “Summon me nightly. Please.”

Sithis just shook his head and rolled his eyes. The archdemon was far beyond over Piggy’s sexcapades and avoided talking to her completely, as all she ever thought about was being abused and used by their master.

“I need to practice my enchanting too…” weakly mumbled Telipe as she held Napoleon to her chest and avoided eye contact. She didn’t speak up much because of her lingering fear of Trey, so if she was saying it - the nether realms truly must not be fun to reside in.

Napoleon didn’t say a word. The sassy little imp was just staring daggers at Trey in a simmering rage, and he’d occasionally hiss at the summoner between breaths.

Ezdeath was still making funny faces at the others from behind where Trey stood, had donned a plain brown peasant’s dress she’d taken from one of Trey’s whores, and seemed rather upbeat until Trey gave her a scowl.

“Stop antagonizing them.” Trey commanded with raised eyebrows.

Ezdeath immediately straightened up with a fading grin, cleared her throat, and nodded. “Yes master.”

Seagulls called out overhead and another ship passed on their left. The sails were being drawn down, and the sound of water gliding or splashing along the side of the galley was only interrupted by the shouts of sailors working to drop anchor.

Trey snapped his fingers over at the ifrit who was spitting overboard into the sea. “Atharost, get away from the railing so we don’t get reported.”

The ifrit groaned and did as he was asked, coming over to stand next to Sithis.

Trey nodded, focused on Rivia, and gently brushed her hair back to further reveal her pouting expression. “Don’t worry, I’ll summon all of you as much as I can.”

She looked up to meet his gaze, her red eyes lingering on his. “Promise?”

He smiled, kissed her forehead between the two small horns of hers, and began channeling the ability to send her into the nether realms. “Yes, I promise. See you soon Rivia, it really won’t be long.”

***

“The Dioko dock workers know me pretty well by now, I’ll put in a good word for you.” Brae rubbed his fingers across his scar as they stood on the wooden dock and waited on the cog to come in. He glanced across the short distance of water at Coctim, who captained the other ship that’d accompanied them on their journey. “They sometimes vet newcomers, so don’t be surprised if it happens. Just don’t mention the demons, and let’s hope that they don’t have any professional identifiers look Ezdeath over. I doubt it’d happen, but it’s always a possibility given her… looks.”

Ezdeath just yawned unconcerned while keeping her nose turned up at the lesser creature talking of her.

Taen rolled his eyes but looked expectantly towards the far off docks of the city. He was excited to see his friends, Lenith and Kurt again. It had been over a month now and he was wondering how they’d been faring. He’d mentioned them to Trey just once before, but he actually knew people here and wanted to say hi before they set off into the vampire den further north.

The Cold-Water, Coctim’s cog, pulled up to the docks between the galleon Nelly and a series of smaller fishing ships. The medium-sized cog fit just perfectly and the anchor was dropped at the approval of the dockworkers below. Claire, Coctim and the remaining sailors shook hands with each of Trey’s group individually - with many thanks and enthusiastic farewells exchanged before parting. It would likely be the last time most of them would see each other again. Their own party had found a decent amount of spoils prior to meeting up with Trey’s group in the lich den. The loot had been split seven almost equal ways between Coctim, Claire, the two sailors who had entered the deadlands to come back, and the three sailors who had watched over the ship while the others were gone. Each of them was now a rich man and each of them had grand schemes in mind for what they would do with their share of the money. A portion of gold had also been set aside for families of their deceased comrades that Coctim was going to deliver this very day before presenting his success to his mother and father elsewhere in the city of Dioko.

“I believe this is goodbye Taen…” stated Coctim with a sad smile as he shook the Earthborn’s hand reverently. “You’ve been true to your word. You and your newfound friends have changed and saved all of our lives, and I am forever grateful for your help. If you EVER need ANYTHING else, my parent’s house is in the Cedar district of this city. Ask around for me and I’m sure you’ll find me there.”

“It was my pleasure Coctim. I wish you nothing but good fortune in your endeavors,” replied Taen genuinely as he brushed a hand through his chestnut hair, glancing over to where Trey, Brae and Ezdeath were waiting. Further down: Ashe, Izumi and Jason were looking about the docks curiously - seeing for the first time in a long time a civilized place of order and safety.

“Well, I suppose I’m going to go have a brief talk with the dock workers. No doubt they’ll come visit you too and make sure the galley of yours has no illegal wares…” Coctim motioned over to the deck where numerous whores were looking overboard. He chuckled. “Hopefully you got rid of all your drugs. Also, I like your new look Trey. Without the horns and red eyes, you look very normal. Is this what you used to look like before you became a summoner? You should really find yourself a human girl.”

Trey chuckled as Coctim glared at Ezdeath with snort. Ezdeath pulled down the skin under her right eye and stuck out a tongue unapologetically towards the irritable mage.

Then Trey nodded. “Yes this is what I used to look like, and not a problem man. Good luck with everything. I’ll be waiting here until the dock workers arrive.”

Coctim said a quick word to Claire, telling her that he’d meet up with her later that day, and departed down the ramp and down the busy dock of shirtless men carrying crates or bags to and from numerous ships under the bright, sunny, seaside day.

Claire sighed, brushed her raven hair to the left, and looked down at her boots to contemplate things. “I think it shouldn’t be hard for you to find a ship that would take you to Rioko from Dioko, but this time of year - prices are high for transport due to the demand. Dioko is a trading hub and people use it to their advantage for people wanting passage. If you don’t want to pay the steep price, you may have to take the land bridge down south and follow it westwards, and then just slightly northwards again to make it to Rioko if that is your destination.”

Trey nodded. He turned to look at the whore Pulie and her daughter Susu whom he had taken from the lawless lands out of kindness. “I promised Susu that the others would give her a tour while Ezdeath, Taen and I infiltrate the vampiric city near Mobobe. So we’ll take a little bit of time doing that before heading to Rioko, and from there - south to Mobobe.”

Claire politely smiled her acknowledgement and turned to Taen. She gave him a brief hug and then clasped her hands behind her. “Don’t forget, both of you! When your current plans are over, come find me here in Dioko. You’ll be able to find me at the Dioko mages’ guild. I’ll have a request ready to go for your guild Invictus, you’ve all proven incredibly capable and I have another little gig I’d like to take you all on with me! AND you’ll be paid up front!”

Taen and Trey smirked at one another.

“Sounds like a plan.” Trey held out his hand and shook the woman’s warmly. “It’s been a pleasure.”

“No Trey, the pleasure has been mine.” Claire bowed. Once more she turned to Taen. “Taen… thank you for bringing me back. I owe you my life. Life will be different now that I’m undead, but people will never know the difference as long as I keep my hunger in check. And even if they did know, ghouls have been accepted into society as long as they aren’t contagious or aggressive. The Dioko mages’ guild already has a ghoul! I’ll wonder what he’ll say when he finds out I’m one of his kind now… And Trey. Thank Jason for dispelling the plague from my being. Without him, I wouldn’t have been able to return… but he doesn’t seem to want to talk to me as I’m undead. So I’ll let you pass the message along. You both have done unbelievable things for me and without both of you I don’t know where I’d be right now. So I thank you both from the bottom of my heart.”

Tears welled up in Claire’s eyes and she quickly wiped them away with a sniffle. Once more she hugged Taen, and then hugged Trey before taking her own share of gold and walking down the wooden board onto the docks. She waved back at them and called out, “I HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN! AT THE VERY LEAST COME VISIT ME SOMETIME!”

They waved back with sad smiles. Trey had liked Claire a lot more than Coctim, so he was genuinely saddened to see her go - even despite knowing very little about her. Even Coctim, who he’d found annoying, was still not a bad guy. He’d be sure to visit them again in the future if circumstance permitted it.

Ezdeath came up from behind Trey and wrapped her arms around him, her scantily clad body pressed against his back and caused him to blush - as the petite brown dress she’d acquired was a little small for her. He turned around and put a hand through her hair to look down into her eyes.

“We really need to get you some new clothes Ezdeath.” Trey chuckled. “Not that I dislike what you’re wearing… but I think buying something nicer for you is a must.”

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Ezdeath’s features lit up and her golden eyes grew wide. “You’re going to take me shopping!?”

“Well of course! As soon as we’re done meeting Taen’s friends here we’ll go to the markets and find you something nice. Sound good?”

“Sounds SPLENDID!” replied the woman enthusiastically as she got up on her tiptoes to kiss Trey’s cheek. The move was unexpected and caught Trey off guard, and Ezdeath turned a bright red at his reaction to look down at the ground shamefully. “I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I won’t do that again…”

Trey didn’t really know what to say. He’d definitely liked it but had just been startled. Neither one of them had ever made a move on the other and that was definitely a step further than anything done before. Looking over to Ashe who was giving him a ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING’ look and motioning to Ezdeath, Trey got the hint.

“Hey... Ezdeath?” Trey gently lifted the succubus’ chin up so that she’d look at him. Without a second thought he’d lowered his head and gently locked lips with hers, holding her close to him in a warm embrace. He held the kiss for a long time and felt her reciprocate his actions by pulling him in even closer. Gasps and squeals of delight from Ashe and Izumi sounded from somewhere nearby before Trey opened his eyes and looked down into Ezdeath’s own. “I… hope that was ok to do…”

Ezdeath beamed up at him while blushing incredibly red and unable to contain her smile. “I wish you had done it sooner.”

The two lovebirds stood smiling and holding one another until Eleknar loudly interrupted from the depths of Trey’s mind. It was a little unexpected, as the essence usually kept to itself, and Trey was left puzzled as to why the greater evil was speaking now of all times… “Summoner, we have a lower life form wishing to speak with you.”

Trey gave Ezdeath another short kiss and then let go of her waist to turn around chuckling at the obviously irritated comment from Eleknar. Looking over the side of the ship he went from chuckling to sighing.

What he saw was the most decorated, pompous looking man he’d ever laid eyes on in his life. He’d somehow managed to creep up on Trey before Trey’d noticed, and was within a couple inches of Trey’s face. The guy wore a bright yellow, square cap with sparkling jewels hanging down over his eyes - and three homely looking servant men following behind him. He was extraordinarily fat, something akin to a toad as opposed to a man, and was slightly shorter than Trey. Despite this, he immediately tried standing on his tip-toes to get a better look at Ezdeath while clearing his throat and spraying spit as he began to speak.

“How much for the whore?”

Trey raised and eyebrow, glancing Ezdeath’s way as the succubus’ jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

“The whore.” The man drew out a fan, and slapped Ezdeath on the head thrice with quick and repeated motions. “I want her. How much for her?”

With lightning fast motion and before Trey could stop her, Ezdeath’s foot connected with the man’s nutsack. With a loud squeal, the rotund man fell over with a thud. His servants all gasped as he cringed, continuing to roll and squeal until - with a loud splash - the yellow-wearing man fell off the dock and into the shallows.

“Well that’s one way to settle things…” Trey mused with a chuckle. Then he saw the guards incoming after a couple nearby sailors began pointing and laughing. “But let’s try to avoid violence while we’re in public. Ok?”

Brae just laughed and managed to snack the coin purse the blubbering man had dropped on his way into the water, and eyed the three servants as they assisted their master in getting him back on the dock.

Ezdeath took in a quick huff of air, straightened her shoulders, and nodded politely while interlocking her arm with Trey’s own. “Very well. I’ll do my best… and don’t worry about these guards. I’ll have them eating out of my palm in the next couple seconds.”

***

Just as Ezdeath said, the guards were quick to take her side as her pheramones and unique voice compelled them to act on her behalf. The rich man, who turned out to be a noble of one of the local houses, as actually escorted off the docks and to the local jail for a timeout of all things. Trey just watched, dumbfounded, as their eyes seemed to glaze over when she spoke - and two of them were even drooling before they left.

But the next order of business was the dock worker registering their ship, and to Trey’s good fortune - it went rather smoothly.

“Well then… Trey was it? You’ve got quite an interesting group. And… that’s quite a unique weapon you’ve got strapped to your back. What brings you here? To Dioko?”

Trey shrugged at the balding, middle aged man with glasses and turned to Taen. “You might be able to explain this better than me.”

Taen cleared his throat and stepped forward, extending a hand “Hi. Name’s Taen, nice to meet you. I have some friends here in Dioko that I was wanting to introduce my guild to. These guys I’m with are all guildmates, we just got back from Ornthas.”

Trey’s eyebrows arched at the word ‘guildmates.’ There’d been a lot of talk about it lately but still nothing official. No doubt Ashe and Izumi were behind this.

“Guildmates?” repeated the officer as his eyes lingered on Nova a little while longer. From a small satchel he pulled out a pen, ink, and piece of paper with a board under it to write on. “I guess that at least somewhat explains the odd combination. Could you please give me the name of your guild, your guildmaster’s name, and a list of names for the other members? If they aren’t here, please give descriptions of what they look like. This is for identification purposes only, you haven’t done anything that would mark you as criminals… we just wanted to make sure you weren’t hostile and make record of it for Dioko’s ruling class.”

Taen turned to Trey and whispered low, just low enough that Ashe and Izumi could hear it nearby as they listened in. “What’s the guild name?”

“Invictus is the guild name!” responded Ashe as she crossed her arms with confidence. “Invcitus!”

Trey swatted at a fly that was buzzing around his head, and upon it returning caught it between his fingers with lightning reflexes to surprise the two men in front of him. He gave Ashe a look, then pooched his lips and motioned for her to come forward.

The demihuman Earthborn girl did exactly that, skipping forward with a large grin across her face and holding that grimoire to her chest that she claimed to be almost finished with. “He’s the guildmaster, his name is Trey Bon.”

Se then pointed to each individual member of the guild and named them off. She even included the names of the people who weren’t there, ones that Trey wasn’t familiar with… but Taen quickly explained that these names were of the people he’d met in the realm between amulets back in the deadlands - the ones that Taen was friends with that he promised to introduce in further detail later.

The dock officer was scribbling furiously as Ashe went on. “...Michael Noren. Black hair, a little over six feet tall, carries a big mace with the marks of Maltetious - a lot like this guy’s weapons.” Trey pointed to the Eid Longsword and Taen showed him the mark Trey was talking about.

“Ahh, I heard about what this one did in Rioko. The famed champions of Maltetious.” The officer seemed to calm down as he recognized Taen’s description and looked him over - along with his longsword - once more. “You have earned yourself a good reputation here in Neirtho with what you did for those people being forced into prostitution. Word has it you kicked a Rioko noble’s ass and got away with it too. Much like the fine lady here did just minutes ago. I’m envious, many of these nobles need a good thrashing.”

Taen chuckled as did the officer, and Trey gave him a curious look.

“Just to clarify, that ghoul isn’t contagious is it? We’ll have to inspect it first with some of our own just to make sure.” The dock officer pointed the quill pen over at Bann, who was lingering further back near Brae’s galley while looking hesitant to come forward.

“Yeah, and that’s fine you can go ahead.” Trey replied. The officer motioned for one of the professional identifiers to come forth, gave a brief set of orders and pointed to Bann, and then looked back to Trey.

“Any others?” asked the officer as he readied his pen.

Taen thought about it, then shrugged. “Yeah just one more. Maltetious.”

The balding man smirked and swatted at a mosquito that landed on his neck. As he looked up to eye the four men and women, his smile turned into a frown. “You can’t be serious.”

“Pretty blonde woman, wears a white sunday dress, batshit crazy.” replied Taen with a straight face. “That’s her.”

“...I see. What is the nature of your guild? Mercenary, exploration, magical studies, labor, or Panoptic?”

“Panoptic?” aked Taen curiously.

“It just means you take jobs for a variety of things instead of one specific area.” replied the officer.

“Panoptic,” replied Ashe assuredly - her tail was going crazy after glancing in. Trey's direction with a giddy grin.

“What are your specialties in?”

Ashe thought a moment before replying. “Combat mostly - so temporary bodyguard work, dungeon raiding, mercenary work if it’s for a good cause, and training in various types of combat as well as a wide range of magics. Healing too. Curse lore, engineering, blacksmithing, enchanting services, a wide variety of language translation services, and an up and coming potions vendor. We also have a small brothel in place, or at least the whores for it. We don’t have a place of residence yet though, but expect to fix that soon. For now, the ship is where they reside.”

“Are you leaving Dioko soon?”

“Yes, we’re only going to stay for a short time.”

“Are you going to be back in Dioko any time soon after that?”

Ashe shrugged. “It’s very likely, but I’m not sure when.”

“Would you be open to taking jobs here?”

Ashe nodded.

“Very well. Your guild will be registered at the office of the registrar in the governmental sector at the center of the city. Information you’ve supplied me with will be listed as well and people will be able to put up requests for you there. Old requests will be taken down regularly, and if you do not return to Dioko within two year’s time your name will be removed from the guild listings. Is this ok with you? Having you all on an official registered guild will make you all identifiable so we don’t have to go through this again upon re-entry, and it will put to ease the minds of the citizens. We’ll also be sending this guild information to the other cities of Neirtho so that they don’t have to go through this as well, and they’ll be able to look you up - but your working services will only be expected in Dioko unless you notify other cities that you intend to work out of said city. Does all this sound alright?”

Ashe looked to Trey.

Then Trey nodded and smiled. He hadn’t expected to register a guild today but rolled with it having no complaints. It was strange that it was now an official thing and he got excited just thinking about it… though it’d be a while before they were done with the current set of quests they’d embarked upon.

“Invictus, huh? Interesting name choice.”

Murmuring from the deck of the galleon as well as from the beginning of the docks turned up a notch as spectators continued to watch in wonder. From somewhere out in the growing crowd a hand raised up high and a familiar voice shouted out.

“TAEN! BLOODY HELLS TAEN YOU’RE BACK ALREADY!”

Taen and Trey both turned, as did the officer, to see the scrawny tanned fisherman Taen had grown fond of in the short time knowing him. Kurt had weaseled his way through the crowd and he was accompanied by his son Horkque - a sturdier version of his father, but a little shorter too.

“Hey Kurt! Hey Horkque! Nice to see y’all again!” cried Taen as he waved. The officer motioned for the knights to let them pass, and soon the two fishermen had joined them to embrace Taen while laughing.

“Wow! You’re already back!” stated Kurt again as he put his hands on his hips. “We were just about to go fishing! I’m glad we wanted to see what this crowd had gathered for!”

Taen cleared his throat and motioned to the man beside him. “Trey, this is Kurt, the man I was telling you about from Rioko. He and his family are the ones I wanted you to meet.”

“Sup.” said Trey as he extended a hand. Kurt shook it vigorously not blinking an eye. His son on the other hand was a bit more skeptical, given Ezdeath’s unique appearance, but still took Trey’s hand in turn and looked at the others upon the galley of war in wonder.

“Nice to meet you! Are you one of Taen’s friends?” asked Kurt curiously. “We owe Taen quite a bit! So his friends are our friends!”

Trey smiled widely and made a slight bow. “Yes, we’re friends and guildmates with Taen. It’s very nice to meet you Kurt, I’ve heard a lot of good things about you and your family.”

The dock officer cleared his throat and they all turned their attention back to the man.

“Sorry,” stated Trey apologetically. “Please continue.”

The dock officer gave an unapproving look to the fishermen. “Do you know these men?”

“Only Taen here,” stated Kurt promptly with a wiry hand gesturing to the necromancer.

“Can you vouch for him on record?” asked the officer, pen at the ready.

“Of course! I could not vouch for a better man! Surely you’ve heard about what he did in Rioko by now?” replied Kurt enthusiastically. “My daughter was among those he saved!”

The officer’s unapproving look turned into a smirk and chuckle. “I see. That explains a lot. Well if it’s ok with you, I’d like you to sign your name here on the bottom of the page signifying that we had a witness testifying to their character.”

Kurt took the pen and signed where the officer pointed to and handed the pen back.

The officer then turned to Trey and Taen. “I’m going to leave the name ‘Maltetious’ off of the guild registry. Having that name on a registered guild here in Dioko would only mean bad things from Agnude’s holy order, the Vetteresies, ESPECIALLY if what you say is true. I highly suggest that you do NOT go about giving that name as a registered member - lest you make yourselves an army of unwanted enemies. Those religious zealots that worship Agnude don’t have much power here in the country of Neirtho, but you never know when one of their crazed fanatic followers will come for you if you keep that up. Even having her champions listed in the guild is somewhat daring, but after your actions you’ve gained widespread acceptance in these lands.”

Trey's face grew curious again. Just what had Taen done to become so well known and heard of? Taen puffed out his chest jestingly and Trey shook his head with a sideways glance.

“Oh, and one more thing. There’s a butcher’s shop not far from here down the street by two blocks and then take a left. I’m being paid by his son to advertise for the business, so go give it a try. They have an excess right now and want to get rid of it before it goes bad. Be sure to stop by!”

Without another word to the Invictus group: the officer started off down the dock and then into the city to be followed by the knights, mages, and city guards along with a small portion of the crowd that bombarded him with questions as he went. The majority of the crowd had stayed though and continued to watch curiously as members of Invictus made their way down the ramp from the cog and onto the docks. Their supplies had already been loaded onto a donkey that Brae had bought while waiting for Coctim’s ship to dock, and together they set off as a group into the bustling lively city of Dioko.

Kurt led the way as they headed towards his home, quite enthusiastic about having Taen back to visit him. “Have you come to see Lenith!? All she ever does is talk about you!”

Taen blushed at the memory of Kurt’s gorgeous daughter. “Yeah, I came to see all of you. Lenith included! We were passing this way and I really wanted to drop by… so here I am!”